Apple is an industry leader in designing accessible computers. The iOS 10 software update for iPhones and iPad includes various new and improved accessibility features for people with vision, hearing and mobility impairment.

Take the following short quiz for insights into some of the most impactful features.

An Out-of-the Box Rummaging Hack

As a family, we are fully committed to living “in the moment” with our mother as she progresses through the stages of memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, out-of-the box creativity has been essential to us - like the story of the fake ID, which became the dignity hack we used to help with purse rummaging anxiety.

We knew losing a purse might happen for Mom who was forgetting more frequently. But in her mind, leaving home without a purse, was not really an option for a ‘normal’ lady. She put her foot down; she would not relinquish her purse.

For safety we had removed credit cards, insurance info and some personal information from her wallet. Sure enough, eventually her purse went permanently missing.

I love spending time with my mom, but now that she's in her 90’s, I am much more proactive in engaging her. More and more often, I find myself doing it with a gadget between us.

Don't get me wrong; we both enjoy nature and spending time with family, but it happens less frequently nowadays. It's hard for mom to get around, and her adult grandchildren live hundreds of miles away.

Even though the time spent together is different, we’re still able to enjoy the warmth of visiting with family. Here’s four reasons why I use an iPad with my mom and think you should too.

Siri - the virtual assistant that's built into Apple computers, including the iPhone, iPad and Mac - is one of the most well known and most used virtual assistants. She (or he if you prefer) speaks over 20 languages, answers over a billion requests per week and isn’t even 6 years old.

Despite the notoriety, Siri has some limitations. She often has difficulty transcribing or interpreting specific requests, especially those that include conversational language or complicated names.

Personalized music is invaluable resources for caregivers. Even if you are caring for a person that is not normally interested in music, that does not mean that he or she will not be impacted by hearing a familiar tune.

Listening to specific songs help people with dementia feel like themselves, and in turn, the music helps caregivers build emotional trust and nurture cooperation. Learning how to incorporate personalized music into daily activities can make you a more successful caregiver. Here are five ways how:

Every semester, our team at Generation Connect collaborates with Dr. Mary Ligon and her gerontology students to teach local seniors how to use smartphones and tablets. Prior to pairing up with seniors for the 8-week course, the students go through a two day sensitivity training. This Spring, we trained our fourth group of students.

I’ve been teaching technology workshops on the iPhone and iPad for the past few years, and iCloud is a regular topic of confusion. That should come as no surprise. I am a self-proclaimed tech nerd and it took months of experimenting, troubleshooting and reading support documents to fully wrap my mind around iCloud.

The problem is iCloud is actually several different overlapping web-based services. While some people might find all of these features useful, other might only benefit from one or two.

The following checklist is my cheat sheet for customizing iCloud settings. Use it to go through iCloud, feature by feature, and adjust the settings to meet your needs. If you help your parents or grandparents with a device, be sure to customize their iCloud settings too. It will save you time and frustration in the future!

Why Schools and Volunteer Groups Should Make Intergenerational Learning a Priority

Most young peoples’ perceptions of old age are shaped by two major influences - their grandparents and aging stigmas. That’s a narrow view of an endlessly diverse group of people. Connecting young and old is paramount to healthy aging and has the potential to change the way generations view each other for years to come.

Digital memories facilitate meaningful engagement, share legacy

For the past few months I have been visiting with Niles, a colorful 77 year-young man. A former Boeing system architect, community theater actor, and an atheist married to a priest - his third wife. He is witty, engaging, grateful and he has Parkinson’s disease.

Niles thinks and feels very clearly for the most part, but with Parkinson's it is often hard to tell. Medical professionals call it hypomimea, or the diminished animation and movement of the facial muscles. Niles’ voice inflection is reduced and his memory is not what it used to be.

The following clip demonstrates the use of narrated memories - a voice recording over a group of related images or photographs.

Narrated memories can be used to facilitate meaningful activities for people with dementia. As carers, we can help people living with dementia narrate their own memories or encourage loved ones to create stories for them.